


Secret Santa 2020 - Mistletoe Kisses

by puptart



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, Mistletoe, Other, Peter and Five are bros 4 life, Season 6 Spoilers, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28301829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puptart/pseuds/puptart
Summary: Written for the fourth annual ZR secret santa! Runner Five is on the hunt for mistletoe, but no one seems to know where to find it.
Relationships: Runner Five/Sam Yao
Kudos: 10





	Secret Santa 2020 - Mistletoe Kisses

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the WONDERFUL Jester (owlbarn on tumblr) using their Runner Five. I hope you like it ! <3

Post-apocalyptic England is a much smaller world than it was before the zombie virus, but it never fails to surprise Five when another runner stumbles upon them during a mission. Even during the cold months when snow and low temperatures keep most runners safe and warm behind Abel’s sturdy walls, they should’ve known better than to think they could have a solo mission without someone stumbling across them.

“Well _hello,_ Five,” Peter says, his smile bright and weirdly manic from the doorway of the shop. There’s a fuzzy Santa hat clutched in his left hand, and a long green string of fairy lights looped around his chest diagonally to make a thick cord. “Doing some last minute holiday shopping of your own, eh?”

Five, who had lifted their weapon when they realized they weren’t alone, lowers it now with a scoff. The crumbling shop they’ve found themself in is dark and dusty, but the flash of red in Peter’s eyes is unmistakable. He steps through the shattered glass door, carefully avoiding the glittering shards decorating the floor, as well as the tree shoots and other foliage that has overtaken the inside of the building.

“It’s hardly last minute if there’s a week left to go,” Five says. Peter shrugs and steps around the well-rotted remains of a zombie spattered against the broken down shelving of the store. Five is pretty sure it was some sort of general store before, but it’s been picked through so much that there’s not much left but carcasses, furniture, and plant life.

“So what are you digging around for out here, sans operator?”

“I could ask you the same,” Five says, straightening up. Peter just grins and taps his headset.

“Ah, but I am _not_ sans operator. I did, in fact, sign up for this run.” He looks quite proud of himself for going through the proper channels before leaving the township, and Five is tempted to remind him not to pat himself on the back too hard. They don’t have much of a leg to stand on though, considering they’d just slipped out when no one was looking.

“...Who’ve you got?”

“Jack,” Peter says. “So no worries, he won’t tell anyone I saw you, right Jackie boy?”

Considering Five’s headset is looped around their neck and turned off, they don’t hear whatever Jack’s reply is. Peter’s looking pleased though, so they have to assume he’s agreed.

“Well,” Five says, drawing the word out. “Much appreciated. If you don’t mind, I’m gonna just…” They jerk a thumb at the rest of the store. Peter cocks an eyebrow.

“There’s not exactly much here,” he says.

“I can see that.” Five grimaces. “It’s worth a second look though.”

“Is it?”

“Don’t you have something you should be doing?”

“So testy! Almost as if I was right about you doing some Christmas shopping. Scavenging? Christmas scavenging.”

Five groans and swipes a broken incense burner to throw at him. Peter dodges easily, then strolls past them to start looking around himself.

They can’t exactly _make_ him leave, so Five resigns themself to having company. Joy.

Most days they’d be glad of it, especially to have Peter, but they had _really_ rather hoped to be able to find what they’re looking for without a peanut gallery. Because if Peter _knows_ what they’re looking for, he’s going to ask about it. And if he asks about it, he’s not going to stop asking until he gets an answer. And Five doesn’t want to answer, because Peter will just be a dick about it.

“Seriously, Five,” Peter says, using the heel of his trainer to knock over a heap of… something metal. Probably another shelf. “What do you think you’re going to find in here besides zom bits, mold and scrap metal? Though actually, Janine might want a bit of this action--” He leans over to inspect the bits of metal he just kicked over with interest.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Five heads to the wall where vines have started crawling up the side. Their eyes rove the foliage, struggling in the dim lighting to figure out if what they’re looking for is here or not.

“Er, Five?”

They ignore him, and the dust that’s beginning to snow down on top of them. None of this looks quite right…

“Five.”

Asking around ROFFLENET would’ve been too obvious, Sam would’ve seen, but maybe they should have asked _someone--_

“Oh for--” An arm snakes around their middle and they’re suddenly jerked hard off their feet. Five doesn’t even get the chance to yell _Hey!_ before some of the ceiling crashes down on the ground, pieces of it exploding outward from the point of impact, which is exactly where Five had been standing a moment before.

It’s quiet as Five and Peter both blink at the chunk of material smashed on the ground. It wouldn’t have killed Five, but it sure looks like it would’ve hurt. In the quiet, it’s easier now to hear the low creaking and groan of the building around them. Five freezes in place; they hadn’t noticed how eerie sounding it was before. All buildings make noise, don’t they?

“We should probably go,” Peter says in a low hushed tone, loosening his hold around them. Five nods, and together they scamper for the door, leaving the decrepit building to rot. Once at a safe distance, jogging down the grassy trail leading out of town, he looks at them and adds, “Sorry about that Five. I don’t think you’re going to find what you need there.”

“No, it was a long shot anyways,” Five says with a sigh. This is hardly the first time they’ve ended up empty handed.

“Well I got what I needed in record time. How about I help out until Jack inevitably gets dragged out of the comms shack by the scruff of his neck?” Peter suggests. Though Five can’t understand what’s being said, the muffled sounds of protestation coming from Peter’s headset tells them enough about how Jack feels about that.

“I dunno, if it’s going to be any trouble…”

“Nooo, no. No trouble.” Peter points to their headset. “Put it on then.”

Feeling uncertain, Five still jogs to a halt, Peter following suit. He fusses with their receiver as they slip the headset on. Static fizzles in their ears.

_“--know how he feels about this sort of thing.”_

“It’ll be quick,” Peter says. Jack groans.

_“Alright, fine. But you owe me double now. Triple if Janine finds out.”_

Five’s eyebrows bounce. “Finds out what?”

“Not a thing!” Peter says quickly, cutting off whatever Jack’s answer would have been. “Now then. What are you looking for exactly?”

The cold winter breeze does nothing to cool the warmth that rises to their cheeks. Telling Peter what they’re looking for is only going to lead to being _teased_ , they know it! It’s what he always does! Avoiding that may well be worth going home empty handed.

But then again… Sam’s face comes to the fore of their mind, smiling so hard and laughing that his glasses get all pushed out of place. With a sigh, Five resigns themself to teasing. For Sam’s sake.

“Mistletoe,” they say.

“No.”

“Yes,” Five grits out. “Are you going to help or not?”

“Easy now, easy! I’m going to help, never you worry.” He puts his hands up, palm out, the utter picture of innocence but for the way his mouth twitches into a smile too wide.

_“Aw, that’s really cute,”_ Jack says, a smile clear in his voice. _“But uh… I dunno how to say this Five, but I’m pretty sure you’re like, half a decade out of stock.”_

“I know, I’m looking for the wild stuff,” Five says. “To be honest, I have absolutely no idea where to find it. I’ve just looked anywhere plants are growing. ”

“Hm. What’s it look like again?”

_“Green leaves and little white berries,”_ Jack says. _“I’ve had my fair share of experiences beneath it.”_

“As have I,” Peter says. “Though I wasn’t spending much time looking at it.”

“Boys,” Five cuts in before they can start arguing over who the biggest slut is/was. Despite wanting to put his past behind him, Peter somehow never can resist getting into it where Jack is involved.

_“Right, right.”_ Jack hums quietly. _“So is it… a bush?”_

“I thought it was a vine,” Five says. “That’s why I went into the shop, when I saw the vines bursting through the walls.”

“Doesn’t it grow on trees?” Peter scratches his chin. “Could’ve sworn I remember something like that.”

“A mistletoe tree?” Five scoffs.

“I don’t know! I’m not a botanist!”

_“What if you just drew a bit of mistletoe and cut it out? That would be cute.”_

“No way. I want the real stuff.” Five doesn’t mention they’d already considered just drawing it after a week of unfruitful journeys into the zombie wilds to find some. With all the zombies sluggish or frozen, the searching hadn’t felt very dangerous, just dangerously boring.

“Have you searched the forest of the fallen?” Peter asks, though going by the look on his face he’s desperately hoping they have.

“Yeah,” Five says, and his shoulders drop an inch. “Nothing there.”

_“There’s that bit of forest on the other side of Fort Canton,”_ Jack suggests. Five nods; they haven’t tried over there yet.

“Alright. How far is that?” Five asks.

_“What, you think I know?”_

“You’re the operator.”

_“I’m not bloody Sam Yao. I don’t know how far things are! Hold on, let me see if there’s a map in here…”_

“While he’s doing that, shall we?” Peter gestures grandly to the road that will lead them to the _main_ road that leads to Fort Canton. Five pulls one of their feet back, pressing the heel of it into their rear to stretch out their quads. They hold the stretch for a count of three, then drop it.

“Race you,” they say, and take off without waiting for an answer. There’s a loud, offended yell from behind that they ignore, laughing as they bound down the trail, heading for the road.

* * *

There’s a lot to love about Christmas time. The decorations, the music, the cheer, the nonstop festivities! Though, not all the festivities are specifically Christmas-y, since not everyone in Abel celebrates. In fact a lot of people gave up entirely on religion after all the zombies and such.

“Zombies,” Sam says. Maxine quirks an eyebrow at him, her paintbrush hovering over her miniature.

“Zombies give you holiday cheer?” she asks.

“What? No.” Sam snorts. “The cold freezes them though, which is really nice. We don’t have to worry about them when they’re all ice lollies.”

“That’s really gross and has nothing to do with Christmas.”

“Yeah but like, it’s around the same time of year. It counts.”

“I don’t think it counts,” Paula pipes in.

“You can say it puts you in the Hannukah mood,” Sam suggests. Paula gives it a moment’s thought then shakes her head.

“I’ll stick to latkes and drinking for eight straight nights.”

“Not this year you won’t.” Maxine gestures to Sara, sleeping peacefully on the carpet. Sam tuts and goes to scoop her up. “She’s fine, Sam.”

“I don’t want her to get cold.” He picks his daughter up with care and deposits her on the couch. She snuffles a little but calms the moment he slips her favorite stuffed elephant under her arm and covers her with a throw blanket.

“Fussy,” Paula accuses.

“Am not.” Sam can’t help smiling though. It’s pretty idyllic, hanging out with his family and bickering about things that don’t matter while the radio plays in the background, interjected by Eugene and Zoe every few songs. Snow swirls outside the window of Maxine and Paula’s tiny house, the hospital within sight, and the gates of Abel just beyond that. The fire crackles in the hearth, keeping them warm despite the chill.

All that’s missing is Five.

Sam purses his lips and glances to the gates, despite knowing Five’s not on a run today. In fact, they’ve cut their schedule back a lot this week, which Sam had taken to mean he’d get to see a lot more of them. Instead, it’s like they’re a ghost.

Usually that means they’ve been commandeered by Janine. Sam is loath to step in, he knows what Janine and Five do is _important_ but… Well, so is Five getting to spend time with their family around the holidays! Sure it’s at least a week out but still. His point stands. Plus it never does sit right with him when those two are off sneaking around; he’s the lead operator! He should know what’s going on too.

“Sam? Where are you going?” Maxine asks, not even bothering to look up from her miniature this time. Sam tugs his boots on and starts winding the long, long scarf Jody had knitted him years ago around his neck.

“I need to talk to Janine about something. I’ll be quick,” he says, not at all sure if that’s the truth, but he hopes it is. Surely it won’t take much to convince Janine that she can spare Five long enough to do a Christmas tree in their shared room, right?

Right. Sam steps out of the warm, cozy little house and into the chill, determined to come back with his partner in tow.

* * *

“Okay, that is every bloody bush in all of England that we have looked at,” Peter says, looking to be about at his wit’s end with this endeavor. He still doesn’t like the cold, though that’s not much of a surprise. “Will you please go look in a book or something?”

_“Right, you know, the big book of mistletoe that’s just sitting in the comms shack,”_ Jack says with a huff. _“Not that it’s entirely unlikely, given how cluttered this place is.”_

“Are you in Sam’s room?” Five asks, astonished.

_“Well yeah.”_

“Bold move, Holden-Woods,” Peter says.

_“...What d’you mean?”_

“You did notice the comms shack isn’t a shack anymore, right? And there are about a half dozen rooms with equipment?”

_“We always used the main room when doing missions though!”_

“Things have changed, Jackie boy.” Peter tugs his beanie further onto his head. “More to the point, I’m starting to think mistletoe isn’t native to England anymore.”

“It has to be!” Five groans and rubs a hand over their hair. “Goddammit, I’ve been looking for too long to give up now. To have wasted so much time!”

“Come on, Five, surely it’s not worth all this trouble?” Peter puts a hand on their shoulder and squeezes. His voice is pitched lower, eyes soft and kind. Five still isn’t used to seeing Peter with his edges filed down.

“I suppose…” Five clenches their jaw, looking away. “He just said he’s always wanted to have a mistletoe kiss, you know? I know it’s a little thing, but sometimes those are the best things.”

It’s quiet for a long moment before Jack says, _“...Maybe a little longer, eh Peter?”_

“Yeah. Yes. Let’s keep going. I think I see some shrubbery up ahead we haven’t shaken down,” Peter says. Five gives a relieved sigh and smiles.

“Thanks,” they say, letting Peter lead the way.

* * *

“Mr. Yao, I was in the middle of something important,” Janine says, a pillow crease clearly visible on her cheek. Sam opens his mouth to point this out, but upon reflection, realizes he’s too glad to see that she’s actually taking a break to want to ruin it further.

“...Is Five with you?” he asks, brows furrowed as Janine’s shoot up.

“No, they are not.”

Well, that’s a relief. While the idea of Five and Janine all cuddled up and taking a nap together _is_ pretty cute, Sam is pretty sure that’d be, like, some sort of relationship _thing_ that requires talking about first. Right? Right.

“Where are they then?” Sam asks, puzzled. Janine sighs and tugs her robe around herself tighter.

“I assure you, Mr. Yao, I do not track their movements 24/7.”

“So they haven’t been with you this week? At all?” he presses. Janine pauses to think, then shakes her head.

“No. I have been working on the expansion planned to take place this spring. Whatever Runner Five has been up to, I assure you I’ve had nothing to do with it.” Her gaze sharpens with concern. “Why? Are they missing?”

“No, no!” Sam puts his hands up to calm her before she can start rousing a search party. “Well, sort of. I saw them this morning. I just haven’t seen them a lot? Like, normally when they cut their hours I see them more.”

“Mm, and they’d have ample time, considering the snow has put a stop to most runs already,” Janine muses, rubbing her chin. She pulls the door to the farmhouse open further, stepping back. “Come in, Mr. Yao. You can wait in the living room as I change.”

He does so, not really sure if Janine’s effort is worthwhile just yet, but it does feel nice to be actively doing something about his partner being weirdly absent. Usually, their sneaky nonsense revolves around Janine, but if they’re being sneaky without Janine? It sends a worrying chill down his spine. What could they be getting up to?

Wandering into the kitchen, Sam helps himself to the kettle and some granola that Janine keeps tucked away in her cupboard. It’s warm in the farmhouse, but Sam can’t shake the cold that’s settling over him.

Five is probably fine. He knows that, he’s _sure_ of it. There have just been enough times where they’ve gotten themself into a mess that he can’t ever be actually 100% without-a-doubt sure that they’re fine.

Heavy footsteps come down the stairs in a steady rhythm as Sam is sipping his tea. Janine gives him a look and snatches the bag of granola, shoving it back where it goes.

“If you’re quite done mooching,” she says with a frown, “we can go and investigate.”

“It sounds so official when you say it like that,” Sam says with a smile. Janine plucks the mug from his hands and takes a long drink from it before turning on her heel to march for the front door. She does not give him the tea back.

“Keep up, Mr. Yao,” she barks, leaving him to scramble after her.

* * *

Jack sighs, scratching at his stubble as he watches Peter and Five wander around the woods. Kind of watching? He can’t maneuver the cams as well as he used to (they got _so many more cams_ in the years he and Gene were away) but the scanner has gotten tons of upgrades, so he’s able to keep an eye on the two little dots that are his runners.

Life on the island was peaceful. Nice. Quiet. Pretty lovely, all told.

It’s hard to be away from family though. Having Phil and Zoe made leaving Abel and New Canton behind a lot easier, especially since there wasn’t even a New Canton to return to after a certain point. When those two left though… It got harder. There was a time when Jack felt like all he’d ever need in the whole wide world is Eugene at his side. It was true in the beginning. Eugene was all that kept his head together, the one solid anchoring point in his life.

Things aren’t a day-to-day struggle for survival though, not anymore. Even with all the nonsense, Abel gets into, things are _better._ Not as safe as the island may be, and they do have to ration out water usage still, but everyone they love is here. Phil and Zoe, Sam, Jody. Even Peter, though Eugene still gets a sour look on his face whenever _he’s_ around. It’s getting better though.

Jack can’t help but feel like he’d never get pulled into this sort of nonsense back on the island. It’s brilliant. He’s having _fun_ , even though he’d far rather be out there with the runners than stuck with his bottom in an office chair that has molded to the shape of someone else’s arse.

“Anything yet?” he asks.

_“No, Jack. For the tenth time, nothing.”_

_“There’s a bit of holly,”_ Five says.

“Do you think Sam will know the difference?” Jack asks. Everyone is quiet for a moment as they think; Sam can be a bit of a ditz, but he also has his weird depths of knowledge sometimes.

_“Want to risk it?”_ Peter asks. Five hums and there’s a bit of rustling over the headset.

_“I’ll bring some just in case.”_

“He did glue his hand to his face, twice,” Jack muses, resting his chin on his fist. “He might not notice.”

_“He’s done it at least three more times since you’ve been gone,”_ Five says. _“He got into this crafty phase after Noah Base.”_

Jack laughs, but something heavy and sour settles into his stomach. He and Eugene obviously didn’t come back until _after_ Sigrid was killed. Died? The details aren’t clear to him. He’s heard all about Noah Base though, and almost nothing of what Abel was like during that time. No one likes to talk about it, funny enough. It’s still hard for Jack to remember that Owen isn’t around to fill out a team for cricket.

“You must’ve had great tree ornaments that year,” he says, trying to cover the aching silence. Five hums and Peter snorts.

_“Hardly. We did have a_ lot _of ornaments though.”_

_“Hey, don’t talk shit about my boyfriend’s ornaments.”_

_“Maybe your boyfriend should learn how to--”_

Jack is so absorbed in the joy of listening to them bicker that he does not realize that the room is being approached until he hears the very familiar jingle of Janine’s ginormous keyring.

“Oh shit,” Jack mutters.

_“What?”_

He quickly turns off the monitors and scrambles to find a place to hide. With all the piles of crap everywhere that should be easy, but he can hardly find a place to step that doesn’t have a box on it already. He finds what he thinks is a clear spot until he rests his weight down and a loud _squeak!_ from a baby toy rings through the air. Fatherhood has not helped Sam Yao’s organization skills!

Muffled, he hears Sam ask, _“D’you hear that?”_ followed by Janine’s quiet admonishment. Jack throws his hands up in the air. Well, that’s him done. He flops back into the chair, resigning himself to being caught.

The door handle jiggles as it’s unlocked, and a moment later it swings open with force enough to send it smacking into the wall, revealing a rather stern looking Janine, who looks no less stern upon seeing Jack.

“Hello you two,” Jack says, foot resting on his knee and fingers steepled. “Fancy seeing you here.”

Sam peeks around Janine and frowns. “Are you-- Are you running a mission? In my chair?!”

“Without prior approval?” Janine adds.

Jack thinks for a moment. “Yes, it does seem like it, doesn’t it?”

“Why are you in my chair?”

“Who is on the other end of the line?”

Over the headset, Peter says, _“Do not snitch, Holden!”_

Jack, for the moment, ignores Sam and looks to Janine. “Some runners.”

There’s this vein that throbs in Janine’s temple when she’s mad. He hasn’t seen it in years and seeing it now gives him this oddly nostalgic feeling.

“Look,” he says, putting both feet firmly(?) on the ground. “My investment in this mission has run its course I think. If you don’t tell Eugene, I’ll just take my leave now.”

“Your trespassing is not worth my attention, Mr. Holden-Woods,” Janine retorts, though there’s something in her eye that could almost be mistaken for amusement. Sam, on the other hand, looks like he’s been sucking lemons. “Who do you have on the line?”

_“Holden.”_

“I think the gig is up, Peter,” Jack says, shrugging despite knowing he won’t see it.

“Peter?” Janine says, blinking in surprise.

_“Traitor.”_

“You’ve got room to talk.”

_“That’s a low blow!”_

_“It kind of is,”_ Five agrees.

Jack rolls his eyes and flips the monitors back on, then empties the chair of his arse so Janine and Sam can take his place. Again, easier said than done with all the clutter, but he manages to find a path to the door. Sam immediately takes his place, muttering about it being too warm.

“You’re welcome,” Jack says diplomatically as he abandons Peter and Five to their fates.

* * *

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you tag along,” Five says, rubbing their temples. Peter makes an offended noise.

“Tag along? Because you were doing _so_ well on your own?”

_“Peter. Five. Please.”_ Sam lets out a long sigh. _“What are you two doing?”_

“I have nothing to do with him and what _he’s_ doing,” Five says. Peter glares.

“I see how it is. Well, I happened to at least get an operator before going out.”

_“Five, you went out without anyone knowing?!”_

“...That’s a thing,” Five says slowly, trying to give themself time to think of an excuse. “That’s a thing that maybe has happened before.”

“Such as today,” Peter mutters. He blinks, realizing something. “Janine, aren’t you supposed to be in bed? You promised--”

_“Yes well,”_ Janine interrupts. _“I was until Mr. Yao alerted me that Runner Five hasn’t been heard from in some time and if we’re going to bring up partners not doing as they’ve been asked…”_

“Alright, alright. Fair point.” Peter waves it off.

_“Guys?”_ Sam says. _“If you’re quite done with the lover’s quarrel--”_ both Janine and Peter scoff at this, _“--then maybe I can get my runners back home? Where they belong?”_

“You act like I’m not allowed out and about usually,” Five says, amused. Sam _can_ be protective, but it usually takes quite a bit more than a romp in the snow to get him all fussy.

The pouting clear in his voice, Sam says, _“I’ve missed you this week.”_

Face burning, Five says, “God, stop.”

_“What? I’m allowed to say I miss my partner.”_

“Aw, Runner Five, are you still shy about PDA?” Peter asks, lighting right up. “That’s adorable, really. How do you plan on making the mistletoe work in that case?”

_“Mistletoe?”_ Sam asks, tone switching immediately to keen interest as Five looks for a stick big enough to whack Peter with. Their weapon is too good for him.

“Shut it.” Five finds one and takes a swing, but Peter doesn’t even flinch when it makes contact with his arm. Bastard. He probably likes it.

_“Five,”_ Sam says, voice going soft and a little dreamy. _“Are you looking for mistletoe? Is this because of that conversation we had on that run to the bookstore?”_

Five takes another swing at Peter, but this time he dodges, cackling like the mad man he is. “Maybe so.”

_“That’s… Well, that’s really sweet. Aw, Five!”_

They give a short, frustrated yell and throw the stick at the nearest visible camera instead, which doesn’t even come close to landing. “Stop! Ugh, it’s ruined anyway.”

_“How so?”_ Janine asks, her own voice smoothed out and unruffled now.

“Well, Sam knows about it, for one. Surprise completely ruined. And two, we can’t find any of the damn stuff.”

“We’ve turned over every bush in the country,” Peter agrees.

Janine sighs harshly. _“You don’t find mistletoe in bushes. It is a parasitic plant that lives in trees.”_

Peter lets out a triumphant yell and jabs a finger at Five. “Ha! I told you.”

“That’s not the same as thinking there are _mistletoe trees,”_ Five argues.

_“Alright, you two,”_ Sam cuts in. _“Before this conversation gets any more interesting, let’s get you in the right place. I’ve got it on good word that there’s a bit of mistletoe near that old mill. Head that way, pick up a few bunches, and then come on home.”_

Simmering down, Peter and Five do as they’re told and start jogging westward. It’s not how they wanted this all to go down, but Five can admit it’s better than nothing.

* * *

As frustrated as Five is that they didn’t get to surprise Sam with it, they have to admit it feels pretty good to finally have a backpack full of mistletoe, and the big, warm hug they get from Sam when they come to the comms shack is _so_ worth it.

“Feels like it’s been ages since I’ve been able to give you a squeeze like that,” Sam says. Five bats at him.

“Please, we just hugged this morning.”

He ruffles their hair, which makes them squawk and smack at him more. Laughing, he says, “It’s not the same.”

“Hmph.”

“You’re cute when you pout, you know that?”

Five avoids looking at his smug little face. Just a little ways back Peter is excitedly showing Janine the goodies he’d collected on his own run, including a whole wreath and the Christmas harness he’s fashioned around himself. There’s a lot of emphatic pointing at the farmhouse and Janine looking cautiously accepting.

Sam pulls back and slides his gloved hand into theirs, giving it a squeeze. “Come on then.”

“What? Interested in the mistletoe I brought back?” Five quips. To their surprise, Sam just grins.

“Yeah, I am.” He laughs at their expression. “If that’s what’s had you ghosting me all week, then I think I’ll need about a week’s worth of kissing in return. Maybe more for like, compound interest or something.”

Five laughs, cheeks warm, and they lean in to steal a kiss that warms them all the way down to their toes. “I’ll be sure to pay in full then.”

Hand in hand, Sam and Five make their way through the quiet, snow-blanketed township. Their breath fogs the air as they murmur quietly to one another, getting closer and closer until they have their arms intertwined. Together they make it to their shared room, dusting snow from one another, and barely taking the time to remove their coats before Five makes good on their promise.

The chill of winter air chases them into each other's arms for the rest of the night.


End file.
